Former Cathedral City Resident Allegedly Killed by Cellmate in State Prison

By kmir.com

Published: 04/11/2018

A former Cathedral City resident serving a prison sentence for child molestation was allegedly killed by his cellmate, according to corrections officials.

Robert Elsworth Hunter, 77, was found “unresponsive in his cell with blunt force injuries to his face,” according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He was pronounced dead just before 8 a.m. Monday at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione.

Hunter was serving a 15-year-to-life sentence for molesting a boy at various times over the course of three years while living in Cathedral City, according to court documents. He pleaded guilty to a single count of oral copulation on a child in 2009, court records show.

Hunter’s cellmate, Matthew Wanser, has been identified as a suspect in his death, according to CDCR.